Brandon Knight

Knight combined with Eric Bledsoe to form one of the league’s more potent backcourts through the first two months of the season before injuries befell both of them. Bledsoe went down first with a season-ending torn meniscus in December, allowing Knight to take control of the...

For the first half of last season, Knight was the catalyst for a surprise Bucks team that exceeded expectations and would go on to earn the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. He averaged career-bests in field goal percentage, assists, and rebounds and was nearly an All-Star, just missing out on the final Eastern Conference reserve spot. Despite Knight's hot start, Milwaukee had reservations about making the 23-year-old its point guard of the future. At the trade deadline, the Bucks dealt Knight to Phoenix in a massive, three-team deal that brought reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams to Milwaukee. Knight, who signed a five-year, $70 million deal with the Suns this offseason, played in only 11 games after the trade, as a severe ankle sprain kept him sidelined for 15 of the team's final 16 contests. When he was on the court, he struggled, averaging just 13.4 points per game on 36 percent shooting, down from 17.8 points and 44 percent shooting in 52 games with the Bucks. Expected back at full health, and with a summer to acquaint himself with coach Jeff Hornacek's system, Knight projects to start alongside Eric Bledsoe in the backcourt. Neither player fits the mold of a "true" point guard, so it's likely they'll share primary ball-handling duties. While playing multiple point guards together ultimately failed for Hornacek last season, Knight, given his catch-and-shoot ability, figures to be a better fit off the ball than Goran Dragic or, especially, Isaiah Thomas. Archie Goodwin is expected to take a step forward, and rookie Devin Booker, after an encouraging summer, will be tough to keep off the floor, but Knight and Bledsoe are the clear top two in the Phoenix backcourt.

2014-15

In his third NBA season, and first with the Bucks, Knight appeared in 72 games (starting 69) and set career highs in scoring (17.9), assists (4.9), rebounds (3.5), field goal percentage (42%), and free-throw percentage (80%). With a new coach to impress, Knight will look to prove last season's numbers weren't simply a result of him taking advantage of being the de facto go-to guy on a bad team. The biggest criticism of Knight at this point in his career is his inability to see the floor like a true point guard. While he was thrust into that role last season, the offseason additions of Jerryd Bayless and Kendall Marshall should allow Knight to play off the ball more frequently. He's a decent three-point shooter (36% career) but saw his percentage drop to a career-low 33 percent last season. One of the primary reasons for the decline was his high rate of pull-up attempts. Just 65 percent of Knight's made three-pointers resulted in an assist last season, compared to 89 percent with Detroit in 2012-13, when he shot nearly 37 percent from long range. Similar to last season, the Bucks' rotations are difficult to predict at this point. There's no doubt Knight will be one of Milwaukee's top contributors, but it remains to be seen if he'll spend more of his time at point guard or shooting guard.

2013-14

In his first season with Milwaukee, Knight will start at point guard and could see minutes at the shooting guard spot as well. He struggled in the pick-and-roll setting in his two seasons with Detroit, averaging just 4.0 assists per game in 2012-13. Knight is a better three-point shooter and locker room presence than Brandon Jennings, but his decision-making will need to improve before he’s considered an upgrade at the position.

2012-13

Knight put together a solid rookie campaign for the Pistons, earning All-Rookie First Team honors while finishing with averages of 12.8 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 threes and 0.7 steals in 32 mpg. The 21-year-old point guard was an efficient scorer all season long, hitting 41.5 percent from the floor, 38.0 percent from downtown and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe. He also proved to be a decent rebounder for a 6-3 point guard, pulling down five or more boards 18 times. The one area where Knight needs to show growth is in his ball distribution. He will probably never be among the league leaders in dimes, but Knight’s assist totals should start climbing as he continues to develop. Any restraints the Pistons had on Knight last season should be gone from the equation this year as he’s clearly one of the team’s top building blocks alongside Monroe and Stuckey. After Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, Knight should be one of the top targets in fantasy from the 2011 NBA Draft class.

2011-12

Knight was selected by the Pistons with the eighth overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. He’s known more for his scoring prowess than ability to create for his teammates, as evident by his 17.3 points per game during his lone college season at Kentucky. While not as highly touted as previous John Calipari point guards (Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall), Knight was still considered the second best point guard of his draft class. He may not start right off the bat, but Knight is expected to have a significant role for the Pistons during his rookie season.